


Soaring Valley || Season One

by ExNar



Series: Soaring Valley: A Gravity Falls Spinoff [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:01:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26689351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExNar/pseuds/ExNar
Summary: This is meant to be a prolog. Feel free to skip it, but the story may not make as much sense without it. Idk, I'll do my best.
Series: Soaring Valley: A Gravity Falls Spinoff [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1942162
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Twins That Go Bump in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is meant to be a prolog. Feel free to skip it, but the story may not make as much sense without it. Idk, I'll do my best.

"Thanks for the cookies, Mabel" Dexter "Dex" Abiete took the tray, sloppily-covered in the shiniest (and perhaps sparkliest) foil he'd seen, from her hands.

"Mhm-" Fiddle "Fidds" Abiete agreed, hastily removing the covering and taking a snickerdoodle before his brother had the chance to set down the tray.

"Aw, it's no problem, you guys! Just be sure to save some for the kids!" Mabel Pines chuckled, skipping just behind the brothers into the kitchen.

"I can't believe they fell asleep on the way here... Adelaide never rest, and Michaela... Well, I guess she takes after Mabel in that sense." Mason "Dipper" Pines shrugged, recalling the rides to and from Gravity Falls.

"Oh, right- that's one thing..." Mabel shuffled her sweater sleeves awkwardly. "Michaela's been rather... Shy? about her name lately. I've noticed all her friends call her Mike... So I was thinking it might be something Charlene could help with?"

Dex smiled at her reassuringly "Don't worry, I'm sure my fiance won't mind talking about her own experiences... Though it may be different for Michaela, you know? Kind of the other way around, it seems..."

"Mfffmm!" Fidds attempted to join the conversation, only to realize he received blank stares as his mouth was stuffed with cookies. Dex slid the tray across the countertop, just out of arm length. A few moments passed, then he spoke. "We're just glad the two of them can finally visit. I know we're not technically family, but-"

"Aw, shut up, Fidds-! You're two are also like twin brothers to me- we're like quin- quar... Uh... Dip?" Mabel glances to him for help.

"Quintuplets." Dipper reminded her, an amused eyeroll sneaking out.

"Yeah! That! I mean, you guys even look just like each other!" Mabel spreads her arms to encompass the other three present in the kitchen. Fidds chuckles.

"That's very kind of you, Mabel, but I'm nothing like this nerd. I'm a dork. They're completely different things." Fidds gives Dex a light elbow-to-the-ribs.

"Haha- as much as I'd love to stay and chat with the famous dork & nerd bros, the wife's waiting. I ought to head back soon, we haven't had time alone in a while." Dipper smiles "It's been nice seeing you two again... But I'm not sure Adelaide is enthusiastic about being here. I'm sure you two can teach her how to enjoy a strange, off-the-map town better than anyone, though."

"So Dipper's the no-fun, on-the-run guy as always. How about you, Mabel? Care to stay for a night? We certainly don't mind having you." Fidds asks, reaching across the counter as best as he can. Mabel shakes her head.

"He's my ride, so I have to go too. I hope the kids have fun- I'm sure little Izzy will be glad to meet them. Tell her to write- I've missed hearing from the tiny dancer." She winks, then attempts a ballet-spin of her own. 

The night fades out into light conversation until eventually, tired but smiling, the Mystery Twins make their way back to their lives in California, leaving behind the cabin just outside of Soaring Valley, Utah.

"Man, they're old." Fidds stares out from the porch at the road where an old car was moments ago.

"No older than we are. Besides, it's only 41, we've still got another 40 years in us." Dex joins his twin on the porch swing, elbowing his ribs.

"OwWww-! Why-"

"Payback."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Mabel and Dipper are not in a relationship. Dipper is married, Mabel is not, and they are definitely not together. Sorry if I ever implied they were.


	2. Welcome to the Valle(r)y

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> System Update: You are now Michaela.

"I don't get why we have to go to that museum. Dad allows me to explore the woods on my own all the time, so it can't possibly hurt to leave us alone in a cabin." My cousin, Adelaide, complained over her bowl of Fruity-Os. Her blonde hair barely avoided taking a dip in the milk every time she took a bite. I would've warned her about it if she'd given anyone a chance to speak, but here we were.

"Addie, please... You know your father is a bit eccentric?" Uncle Fidds pleaded with her, but as anyone could predict, it was no use.

"Says the person who wears /that/ to work everyday," Adelaide gestured to the vest he wore over a white T-shirt. The vest was covered in little yellow and orange triangles, in a pattern. He paired it with black pants and grey work boots. He actually looked quite nice, in my opinion. Maybe a more eccentric version of Uncle Dipper, with a small beard poking out of his chin, but still somewhat fancy. He even had a black tie, which could barely be seen anyways since it was tucked under the vest.

"All I'm saying is that while you're here you're going to have to listen to the rules. Your Uncle Dex and Aunt Charlene are already at the museum, so I need you to work with me. But if you're not too eager to go to the museum yet, I might have just the thing for you..." Uncle Fidds suddenly got a look in his eye. This was my first time staying with him... And honestly, I wasn't feeling too good about it. Thanks, Adelaide, you've doomed us. We're getting punished. Oh boy.

•Don't forget to save your adventure before a sudden time skip like this one•

!! Warning: the following section contains somewhat long character descriptions. Go to the next time skip if you wish to carry on !!

Adelaide was dressed in an outfit that suited her: a bright red shirt with a yellow biohazard symbol. Her words alone were a biohazard... My cousin hadn't always been this harsh, but it had been a while since anyone but her dad's seen her softer side. Attached to the bright shirt were some light blue shorts, and she wore pink shoes with velcro. I was surprised to see that, I couldn't find any shoes with velcro and I was 12. She was a whole year older.

I glanced to my own shoes, a pair of brownish-grey no-lace sneakers. They were comfy, and that's all that counted. I had equally comfortable black leggings on, and my favorite long-sleeved top. It literally had a heart on each sleeve, one pink and one blue. I have used the "heart on my sleeve" joke so much. Also notable about it was the central butterfly, also comprised of a pink and blue heart to represent wings. I tried glancing down at it and caught a glimpse of my own hair, swinging, full of tangles, and catching the light of the car windows. It was reddish-brown, and I briefly wondered where my parents were from for it to be such a color, until my younger cousin spoke up.

"Are we almost there?" Isabella, who was two years younger than me, just had to ask the dreaded question. I went the whole car trip yesterday with Adelaide and it was never spoken. We hadn't been in this car for five minutes and it already came up. I sighed with mild amusement, already knowing Fidds was just going to tell her to be patient, I tuned him out.

Isabella was sweet, and the daughter of my Aunt Charlene. Her dark skin and hair made the bright colors of her outfit stand out like she was a building and her clothes were a wall covered in gum. She wore a bright green top with a hot pink flower on it, which was yellow at the center. Her skirt and shoes were a lighter pink, and I had to wonder if she wore half of her ballet outfit everywhere she went. She also had her hair tied up with a pink scrunchie to match her skirt and shoes, so all her hair was in a side-ponytail. She was missing a front tooth right now. I hadn't met Isabella before today, but I could already tell we'd get along. At least better than Adelaide and I did.

•We're lucky Time Baby isn't here to prevent these time skips•

"Alrighty, five dollars for each of you- Adelaide, Michaela, Isabella..." Fidds focused on handing each of us a five dollar bill just outside of a store with a beige walls and a bright green sign that read "SOARING VALLERY GOODS". 

"You girls explore, find yourself something nice. It can't hurt to get a souvenir or two from a new place." Fidds smiled at us, and I quickly understood he was mostly trying to bribe Addie into behaving. Nevertheless, I was grateful and thanked him quietly.

"If we're still going to the museum anyways, why not just give us something from your giftshop?" Addie rolled her eyes.

"Because I run the giftshop- I know everything there is trash." Fidds stared awkwardly at nothing in particular as her said this, then seemed to shrug out of a trance. "One of you help Isabella check out when she's ready, I'll be exploring some shelves towards the back of the store if you need me." With that, he entered the store. Having nowhere better to go, and genuinely being curious (and excited by even the idea of having money to spend), we followed.

The inside of the store was just as simple of a design as the outside. The inner walls were beige, there was a big green logo with the letters "SVG" painted on the back wall, the lights were blindingly bright double-strips, with a few of them having flickered out of energy. There was produce towards the front of the store, shelves that probably contained cereal and cracker-like snacks and bread in the middle, and coolers near the walls. The only thing remarkable about it's appearance was the check-out, which would've taken anyone a moment to find, as it looked more like a hotel reception desk than your typical grocery store set-up.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to see what Uncle Fidds is looking for in the back of the store." Isabella's eyed glimmered with curiosity.

"Mind if I join you?" I ask, finding I was also suddenly curious. Isabella shook her head, implying she didn't mind if I joined. "C'mon, cousins- exploration time!"

"Hah!" Adelaide scoffed, taking notice of a spinning rack. "You guys go ahead, I'm sure you won't find anything that interesting here."

"Suit yourself!" I called, following the 10 year old who was eagerly tugging at my sleeve, and wishing I had an actual suit so I could make a pun.

•Spoiler alert: Michaela and Isabella got distracted on the way and didn't find out what Fidds was looking at.•

"What are you even buying?" I asked Izzy, curious as to what was in the velvety blue pouch.

"Something /important/ and really cool!" Isabella cruelly left me wondering. I decided not to question her further as we made our way to the wooden check-out desk. As I turned to the person running the cash register, I was suddenly taken aback. This person was really, really-

"Hey, Everest!" Isabella handed the pouch to him.

"-cute." I continued my thought, not quite realizing I said it outloud until a certain cousin of mine helpfully pointed it out.

"Hah- please, you wouldn't know cute if it bit you on the nose."

"Hi to you too, Adelaide." I groaned, mostly embarrassed with myself.

"I believe what you MEANT to say is 'Yeah, he is cute, but nowhere near as cute as our dear, sweet Isabella'" Izzy hopped in.

"Ouch, I'm right here, you know-" He spoke at last, and the nonchalant warmth in his voice made me want to hide from my embarrassment that much more. Somehow, though, I wasn't hiding- in fact, I was staring right at the dark-haired, brown-eyed boy before me. But his eyes... They weren't on me. They were on Adelaide. Of course they were, she was part of the conversation, and I was just the one who awkwardly kicked it off. I caught sight of Uncle Fidds at the other cash register desk, and made my way to him for relief. Addie could stay to help Isabella.

Before I quite reached Uncle Fidds, I caught the angry tone in his voice. I stopped in my tracks, listening as he clearly strained to speak calmly to the blonde-haired woman with bags under her eyes.

"...my brother's not gay. But if he was, that wouldn't be a problem with me at all, and I don't understand why you would have a problem with it. He left you, Vallery, and for good reason too- Charlene's far more of a decent woman than you'll ever be." Uncle Fidds didn't speak this way towards Adelaide. This was different- this was almost pure rage coming from him- I hadn't been sure he was capable of it just five seconds ago, he was generally cheery and patient.

"...Does she even know /what/ he is? Has he told her, hmm, Fiddle? Does she know that this alone..." The woman... /The/ Vallery, likely the store owner, swirled a drink in her hands "...was at one point enough to make you disappear? Or has he kept her blind?"

"OF COURSE SHE KNOWS!" My uncle slammed his fist on the wooden desk, which seemed to amuse Vallery.

"Tsk, tsk... You're setting a bad example for your granddaughter." Vallery's cocky voice scolded him. He turned his head in my direction, and his face became one of someone who's seen a ghost.

"... Michaela..." I heard under his breath, as if he worried he had become a monster I'd run from. I stood still, shocked and somewhat angry with Vallery myself, though I didn't understand the conversation.

"If you don't want /her/ to turn out gross like your brother, you should consider raising her like my son. He works here beside me and he's a perfectly happy, normal child. I couldn't be prouder of my dear Everest." She turned her head and smiled at the same boy I thought was so great just moments ago.

I didn't turn my head. I just looked my Uncle in the eye, until he blinked. Eventually it got through to him I wasn't about to run from whatever this was. He shook off his trance and turned to face Vallery again.

"She's not my granddaughter. She's my niece. Michaela, this is Vallery. She owns this store, a casino, and Isabella's dance studio." Uncle Fidds seemed to completely regain his polite attitude within a few seconds of calm breaths between words. I took this as a signal to move, so I approached the counter and followed in my uncle's lead.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Vallery." I reached out a hand for her to shake, but she seemed focused on Everest. I drew back my hand, glad she didn't take it.

"I see... And is that young lady over there also with you?" Vallery asked to Uncle Fidds, and this time I did look. Adelaide and Everest were chatting, which was impressive. Most people couldn't talk /with/ Adelaide. She talked /at/ them, and even those that did talk with her could only stand so much of her.

"Yes, that's another niece of mine, Adelaide." Fidds admitted, frustration clear in his voice as he could tell where Vallery was leading the conversation.

"It seems they're getting well acquainted... Perhaps they should get to know each other better, no?" Vallery's dark-lipstick smile turned scheming as she watched my cousin speak with her son.

"Perhaps they should." Uncle Fidds simply replied through gritted teeth.

•Time Skip Fun Fact: Whenever Vallery runs one of her other business, she gets an old man named Herbert to look after her shop. He usually just restocks shelves when Vallery is at the store. He offered Michaela a candy sample while they were browsing, but Isabella warned her that it was candy made only for adults. Isabella's mom had told her that. Apparently Herbert was quite good at selling candy to adults.•

"So, what did you girls end up getting?" Uncle Fidds asked us over ice cream. I guess you could say he got ice cream to "cool down" after that situation. Eh? Anyone? Eh?

"A pocket knife." Adelaide shrugged, eating a cone of pistachio walnut ice cream.

"I- I see... Um. Good to have handy, I suppose. Michaela?" Fidds turned to me unexpectedly, and I almost choked on my rocky road.

"I got a stuffed dragon- his name is Bill." I replied, holding up my small yellow cutie "I felt bad because he was missing a button eye so I had to adopt him." I finished as Fidds wheezed, almost spitting his triple-chocolate ice cream all over the table. 

"I-Isabella! What did you buy?" For some reason he reacted to my dragon as if it was worse than the knife. I shrugged, stroking my new friend. Maybe he was afraid of dragons.

"I got you the life stones!" Izzy replied cheerfully, taking a scoop of birthday cake ice cream and plopping it on her tongue. She paused for a moment to say "mmmmm" before pulling out the pouch I'd seen her with earlier. She passed it to Uncle Fidds innocently.

"... Sweetheart... You... What?" Fidds looked both touched and saddened by this. I took another bite of ice cream, apparently awaiting another intense conversation.

"They weren't hard to find at all! Silly Uncle Fidds, I found them for you!" Isabella looked extremely proud with herself.

"...Isabella... I wanted them so I could put them in the museum, but Papa Dexter already told me no. I can't possibly take these now... Why don't you hold on to them? They might help you someday." Uncle Fidds winked at her, trying to cover his original feelings with the joyful feeling of giving a gift to a child.

"Why did you want to put a bunch of rocks small enough to fit in /that/ in your museum anyways?" Addie gestured to the pouch. She had a point this time. It was, admittedly, quite small.

"You're telling me you've never heard the tale of the life stones?" Uncle Fidds did the spooky hand waving thing, and he made a face so intense you could practically see a flashlight shining on it. I rolled my eyes an grinned, prepared for a story.

"Long ago, in a small, unusual town named Gravity Falls, there were strange creatures to be found among almost every corner. Nobody is quite sure where these odd creatures came from. That is, until a pair of twins came to the town and began exploring and investigating all of it's secrets. Eventually it got to the point where they were fighting demons, I don't have time for the whole story, but it was intense. Anyways, the demons had servant creatures, strange eyeballs with bat-like wings and the power to turn people to stone. Whenever these eye-bats cried, their tears became stone and dropped to the ground. When the demons where defeated, most damages and anything affiliated with the demons of weirdness were quickly whisked away or undone. However, the tears-turned-stone were left behind, because they had no special properties, nor did they do any damage. So when everything was undone, instead of disappearing, these stoned became enchanted- no, destined- to be undone themselves. Instead of reversing weirdness in the stones, the reversing process actually gave these stones their special property! It is said that if you place a life stone on the eye of a statue, the stone will not only become a tear again, but seep into the statue and bring it to life."

"...cool story. Can we go now?" Adelaide prompted, the rest of us having finished our ice cream. Uncle Fidds looked at his own unfinished cone disappointedly.

"...I suppose we can."


	3. Exhibit A: The Desserted Zodiac || Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there's so much description, I'm hoping to not have to add so much of it as the story goes on. It was getting long so I'm breaking this chapter into two parts.

Even Adelaide grew speechless as we entered what was supposed to be a museum. I scanned the display before me, my eyes trailing upwards to the tall ceiling and the creatures hanging from it. A gigantic gryphon stared down at me with gleaming yellow eyes. Awe-struck, I tried to make out whether it's frozen expression was malevolent or graceful. Every pale feather on it's face seemed to have intention, and you could almost see them sway in a non-existent breeze. The claws reaching down towards me would've been enough to send anyone running, if they made even a hint toward the idea that the beast was alive. Brown wings caught golden rays as the sun shone through them, illuminating and redefining the statue's majesty.

"I'm never leaving." I spoke, almost unmoving. I heard a giggle beside me.

"Yeah, a lot of newcomers react that way." Isabella remarked "Mom's museum isn't your typical display of history or art."

"More of a mixture of both, if you ask me." A new voice spoke, so I forced myself to look away from the gryphon. A dark-skinned woman stood before me, along with a man who looked like a shaven Uncle Fidds in a lab coat.

"Mommy!!" Isabella ran up to the woman excitedly, hugging her leg "Papa Dexter!" She turned to hug the man's leg as well.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you girls- I'm your soon-to-be Aunt, Charlene." The woman smiled and reached out her hand. I shook it excitedly. She was the museum director- and she certainly looked the part. Her hair matched Isabella's, except for the placement of her ponytail. It was lower down and behind her head, and if you looked hard enough you could almost make out a dark blue scrunchie. The scrunchie was to match her overcoat, which hung loosely above a white T-shirt. She wore light blue jeans and a pair of bright white heels. As of the moment, she had all of my admiration.

"Michaela, you can let go of my hand now..." Charlene giggled as I stared down at our hands- I stopped shaking hers and released it at once. She turned to shake hands with Adelaide as well.

"Yes, yes. Welcome to the Museum of Legends- it's quite the spectacle, if I do say so myself." The man who was with Charlene- Uncle Dexter, by the looks of things, waved his arm to the gryphon, as well as several other displays in the main lobby.

"Ah, you just say that because you design the displays. Self centered, this one." Fidds gave us a wink, bending down towards us and gesturing to his brother. I internally disagreed- he may give off that facade, but I could tell just by his clothes he was actually quite caring. He wore an outfit to match Charlene's, with a light blue collared shirt, white lab coat, dark blue jeans, and the same work boots his brother wore.

"Museum of Legends, huh?" Adelaide crossed her arms "So what you're saying is... This isn't really a museum."

"Adelaide-"

"Hey, Dex, don't worry about it so much. Dip told us she'd be like this, remember? Why don't you show her just how much of a real museum this is?" Uncle Fidds got a familiar gleam in his eye, nudging Uncle Dex. I grinned, beginning to realize that Fidds' solutions to problems usually involved exploring rather than punishment.

"You mean-" Uncle Dex, who's face was somewhere between stressed and tired a few moments ago, suddenly had the same look Uncle Fidds did. Fidds nodded to him enthusiastically. 

"Ahem. Well... Adelaide, please keep in mind that while Charlene and I may not be married yet, I do expect you to treat her and her museum like family." Uncle Dex reprimanded.

"This is how I treat my family. Also, I'm never going to be related to a museum." Adelaide muttered, but Dex seemed to be focused elsewhere.

"Very well. Now, if you'll come with me, I have something to show you." Uncle Dexter guided Adelaide further into the museum, and I almost sighed of relief. The grumpy ones were gone at last.

"Well, Fidds, I'm glad you finally decided to show up, because I have a tour group waiting for you." Charlene looked smug, but in a playful way.

"Oh?" Uncle Fidds tried peering behind her, where some red ropes were arranged, obviously meant to contain lines of people. "Where are they?"

"Right next to you-" Charlene gestured to Isabella and I, and my feet couldn't help but bounce at this idea. I wanted to see everything- I could already spot a phoenix and hippogriff attached to the ceiling a little ways down in the lobby.

•Time Skip Fun Fact: There's only one place in the museum that excites Dexter this much, and Fidds has caught on that there's a fair chance Addie'll like it too. What is this place? You'll see it during the tour, silly- have some patience.•

"Wait-!" Isabella cried at the entrance to another room.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Fidds squatted down to speak with her, and before I knew it they were whispering back and forth. I smiled to myself, taking a few more moments to appreciate the room we were in. I could tell I'd be coming back to this one a lot- it displayed a night time forest setting, with trees you could genuinely enter. You ran into different creatures depending which tree you decided on. Some had pixies, others had leprechauns, and I even saw something that looked like a garden gnome. If you wanted, you could climb a spiral staircase inside the fake trees that lead to bridges. These bridges were really only good for getting to the other trees from above, and observing the constellation on the ceiling, as well as fake creatures being displayed below in the "forest". But now, I stood here below the trees, listening to the fake crickets and waiting to enter the next room.

"Michaela- why don't you lead the way?" Uncle Fidds prompted. I was a bit startled- he was supposed to be guiding us, after all- but I decided to walk ahead anyways.

Huge mistake.

I yelped and jumped back, suddenly clinging to Fidds' arm as he guided me backwards. There was /fire/ two inches from my face- I felt the heat.

"Michaela- Micky, it's okay-" Uncle Fidds reassured, and I opened my eyes to stare up at him. He was looking at the room worriedly, and mumbling something I could barely hear over Isabella's laughter. Not too reassuring. I trusted him anyways, still feeling the odd loyalty to him I gained while at Vallery's store. I didn't know him. He almost sent me straight into fire. He obviously had some secrets. I released his arm, trying to tell myself not to trust him just because he was family. It wasn't smart of me, but somehow I couldn't shake a feeling of affection for the goofball. He's my uncle... He wouldn't put me in any real danger. It's just a museum.

"Well, I don't know why it was blue... I'll have to have Dex look into the heat setting. But I assure you, it's perfectly safe. Come here, I'll show you." Fidds smiled down at me, and I nodded, trailing behind him and Isabella. Blue fire flickered next to me again as I entered, but I was expecting it this time. 

"Bill." I jumped as a voice spoke in my ear, but when I looked for it I found we were the only ones in this part of the museum right now. I checked for an expression from Uncle Fidds and caught him frowning worriedly at me. It was the most heartbreaking expression I'd seen.

"I'm- I'm okay." I stuttered, embarrassed by how easily I was startled, and mildly wondering why the thought of my new plushie suddenly popped into my head.

"Well then, take a look at our dragons." Uncle Fidds' expression returned to it's usual smile, and I glanced up at the source of the fire. Before me roared a frozen, red dragon, glaring down at me as if he hated me more than anything in the universe. I shuddered, terrified, yet excited. I examined the dragon further- it was a typical European dragon, except for the fact that there was a glass box protruding from it's mouth. I moved closed to it, and the fire sprayed out again- perfectly contained within the glass.

"It's a motion detector!" Isabella helpfully pointed out. "All the dragons have them!" I had forgotten Fidds had mentioned several dragons. As it turned out, there were, in fact, four dragons- one at each entrance of the room. They seemed to be elemental- The blue dragon sprayed mist at the guest. If you needed to dry off, the white dragon puffed warm air at you. There was also a brown dragon... I stepped up to it, and the large stone covering the last entrance moved upward, into the air, and waited. I stepped away, and the stone slowly floated down, back into place. I smiled at the brown dragon, and I decided I'd had enough exploring when I thought it smiled back.

"Can we catch up with Adelaide now?" I asked a question I thought I never would.

•Oh no please don't make me see Adelaide again- Ahah I mean, what? Hi- Narrator here. Just... Enjoying a time skip•

I found myself disappointed as I entered the planetarium. It was no less astounding than the rest of the museum, I simply hated planetariums. They made me nauseous.

"Micky, Micky!!" Isabella tugged on my sleeve. I wasn't paying much attention, because there might actually be something amazing about this planetarium after all. Adelaide was smiling at the center of it. She was smiling- and talking to Uncle Dexter, who pointed above at the constellations. I dared not look up.

"Ow-!" I felt a sudden mixture of weight and pain on my foot "What was that for?"

"I know where to use a life stone! I mean, obviously we're going to bring the whole museum to life- but for starters, have you heard of the zodiac?" Izzy looked at me enthusiastically.

"You mean... Like Aries and Taurus and stuff?" I gave her a look.

"Yeah! Papa Dexter told me there were animals in the stars- and the symbols for all of them aren't just on the ceiling. Look-" She pointed to stones lining the edges of the low walls. "Each stone has a different constellation."

"That's... Really cool, Isabella, but didn't Uncle Fidds say you had to put the stone on an eye?" I reminded her, glancing to see if Uncle Fidds was still with us. He was exiting the planetarium with Uncle Dexter. I caught Adelaide looking in my direction and signaled for her to come over.

"Can you watch Isabella? I... Need to use the bathroom." I said awkwardly. I didn't want her to think I hated the planetarium, since she enjoyed it so much. Adelaide nodded, and I dashed towards the nearest exit.

There were strangers in the lobby, but... No Uncles. No Charlene, either. I sighed, as it seemed my only option was to re-enter the stuffy room. I took in a few deep breaths of the cooled air, trying to calm my nerves and stomach.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" A high pitched scream came from the planetarium, growing closer until Isabella dashed by "THERE'S A HORSE IN THERE."

I didn't know what to do. Adelaide hadn't followed Isabella, I should probably go follow her. Then again, Adelaide was no animal whisperer- she was the one in a room with a dangerous animal. Isabella was at this museum all the time and nothing bad had happened yet- I'm sure she knew where to find her mom. I took one more gulp of air and dashed back into the planetarium.

"Where's the horse?" I asked Adelaide, panting as I dashed up to her.

"There isn't one. Look." Adelaide pointed downward, and my eyes followed. It was a goat- a young one at that. I just stared for a moment. It stared back. "...this makes no sense."

"I know, right? I always thought capricorn would be older, and have a fish tail or something-" I answered back, only to get a facepalm from Adelaide.

"No, you idiot- that shouldn't have /worked/!" She sighed loudly. I crouched beside the goat, examining it after allowing it to sniff me to it's satisfaction. "It must be a prank by Uncle Fiddle... You know how he is."

"I don't know..." I stroked the goat's fur, which was a more vibrant reddish brown than my hair. It was covered in random splotches of creamy manilla, the same color as it's hooves. The tiny creature had two horns beginning to poke out of it's head. "...he may tell a lot of stories, but I don't think he'd try to prove them like this. He cares about Aunt Charlene's museum too." As I was saying this, I thought back to the way he pranked me with the dragon fire. I felt guilty with both my thoughts and words... There was no winning.

"Charlene is /not/ our aunt. Just some lady about to marry one of two people who are nearly identical to my dad, to the point that they're even the same /age/ as him, that we haven't been allowed to meet until now. Are you really sure these two are family? People we should be trusting with our lives?" Adelaide's attitude was often rude, but not always this foreboding. I hated that there was some truth to her words. I couldn't see any reason for our parents to leave us with strangers, though.

"Adelaide... What are you trying to say? That our parents would leave us with people they don't know? That we should try to escape somehow?" I huffed, not sure why I was getting upset with her. I knew we had to take care of the situation and find Isabella, but I couldn't pull away from the conversation now.

"They'd leave us with strangers if they didn't want us. That's what happened to you, isn't it? Maybe they're hoping these two actors will look similar enough to my dad and we'll just be happy to stay with them- what if they want to get close to us so we never try to leave? Hm? This should be something you think about more than I do, considering it's already happened to y-"

"ENOUGH!" I shouted, trying to drown out her words. It's just paranoid nonsense. That wouldn't happen. Mom wouldn't leave me- she was so sweet and kind and bubbly... But I've been so lazy and sad lately... Oh stars. What if she gave up on me? What if she thought she couldn't raise me the way she wanted to? What if Adelaide was right? I found myself crying next to the goat, trying to pet it for comfort- but the goat suddenly lunged at Adelaide. Everything in the planetarium seemed to glow- the stars, the zodiac symbols, the goat's eyes- I shut my eyes to block out the light, feelings tears squirm out as I did so.

When I reopened my eyes, Adelaide was a statue.


End file.
